IPL 2018: Brendon Mccullum praises Jos Buttler for his exploits at the top of the order

The Indian Premier League is towards the business end and the race to playoffs is getting interesting day by day. The Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings have already made it to the final four and there are only two spots remaining. The Delhi Daredevils have been knocked out of the tournament while RCB and Mumbai Indians do not have their fortunes in their own hands completely. The other teams need to win all of their remaining fixtures to make it to the knockouts.

Buttler in the form of his life

The Rajasthan Royals are one of the teams engaged in the tussle in the points table. The team has had to constantly change the playing XI and alter the batting order to put competitive performances. It has failed to carry on the winning momentum for longer periods.

The promotion of Jos Buttler to the top of the order has proved to be a masterstroke as the Englishmen has now scored five consecutive fifties. Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum was impressed with Jos Buttler and praised him on Twitter. He tweeted: “@josbuttler Sir, you play very good Opening batting.” Buttler became the only player after Maxwell to register three consecutive 80+ scores. He seems to be batting in another world and bowlers have failed to keep him quiet.

@josbuttler Sir, you play very good Opening batting. https://t.co/1HzK8fe7hW

— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) May 13, 2018

The Rajasthan Royals defeated the Mumbai Indians in a crucial encounter to keep their playoff hopes alive. The win also widens the gap between Royals and the bottom teams who cannot finish on 16 points. The team cannot depend solely on Buttler as they prove to be fatal. If the likes of Rahane and Stokes get back in form, the Rajasthan Royals will look a whole new side and would become the team to beat.

They cannot afford to put a foot wrong as they are in the “you miss I hit” situation where every match is a potential knockout and one team’s loss is the other teams gain.

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